A file photo for the deadly Riyadh bombings

RIYADH, August 17 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Saudi Arabia's highest Islamic authority on Saturday, August 16, strongly condemned terror attacks in the kingdom, describing them as "serious criminal acts," and declared its total backing for the government.

"Acts of sabotage such as bombings, murder and destruction of property are serious criminal acts and an aggression against innocent life ... which warrant severe and deterrent punishment," Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted the  Council of Senior Scholars as saying in a statement.

The council, headed by Saudi grand mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, declared its "support for the actions being taken by the state in chasing and uncovering" the terrorists in an effort to shield the nation from their plots.

The scholars also called on the Saudi people to "stand behind the leadership of this country and their (religious) scholars," at these difficult times in the fight against "evildoers."

The statement ridiculed as "misguided and ignorant" those who claim that terrorism was part of jihad, or holy struggle for freedom.

It said people who provide shelter to suspected militants were committing a "grave sin."

The statement was issued after week-long annual meetings of the influential council which discussed the "recent incidents in Saudi Arabia ," namely bombings.

The statement came few days after Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz on Thursday, August 14, urged Saudi nationals to be the "eye, ear and hand" of the security forces in the battle against terrorists in the kingdom, warning there was no place for neutrals.

"During these days, our noble Saudi people are faced with a decisive battle against the power of evil and destruction which is represented in the tyrant and misguided group of terrorists," Prince Abdullah said.

Saudi Arabia has launched a major crackdown on presumed al-Qaeda militants in the kingdom, notably since May 12 triple suicide bombings of residential compounds in Riyadh that left 35 people dead.

Since then, repeated shootouts have taken place in which several security men as well as suspects were killed or wounded.

Four members of the Saudi security forces were shot dead by suspected extremists they were hunting in southern Riyadh on Tuesday, August 12.

More than 170 al-Qaeda and terror suspects have been detained since the Riyadh bombings.

Additionally, more than 300 suspects have been arrested in the kingdom since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States , which were blamed on the al-Qaeda network of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden.